OUE C-Reit to pay out 1.44 Singapore cents for Q4

BUOYED by better-than-expected occupancy and rental reversions, OUE Commercial Reit achieved a distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.44 Singapore cents for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, beating its own forecast by 5.1 per cent.

For the financial period from its listing date of Jan 27, 2014 to Dec 31, 2014, OUE C-Reit posted a DPU of 5.27 cents, exceeding its forecast by 4.4 per cent.

This translates to an annualised distribution yield of 7 per cent, based on OUE C-Reit's closing price of 80.5 cents on Dec 31, 2014.

For the financial period from Jan 27 to Dec 31, OUE C-REIT delivered gross revenue of S$71.5 million, which beat its forecast by 3.6 per cent, lifting its net property income to S$53.8 million - 7 per cent higher than forecast.

This was due to better-than-expected occupancy and rental reversions at OUE Bayfront and Lippo Plaza, the Reit manager said.

"This reflects the Manager's proactive asset management initiatives to drive operating performance at OUE Bayfront and Lippo Plaza," said Tan Shu Lin, chief executive officer of the Reit manager.

OUE C-Reit's total asset value, comprising OUE Bayfront and Lippo Plaza, has been assessed by independent valuers to be S$1.63 billion as at end-2014, translating to net asset value per unit of S$1.10.

"Due to our proactive asset management, about 25 per cent of OUE C-Reit's leases by net lettable area due in 2015 have already been committed as at Dec 31, 2014, resulting in 19.8 per cent of portfolio by gross rental income due for renewal in FY2015," Ms Tan said.